Toward Tomorrow, Together
by Still Stream
Summary: Edea couldn't remember the last time she'd had dinner with both her mother and father like this. [Ringabel/Edea. Spoilers for Chapter 6]


**Author Note:**

The idea of writing anything for Bravely Default never occurred to me until this one scene during the Conjurer sidequest in chapter 6. I just found Edea's segment of that sidequest really touching. So I thought I'd expand on it a bit. I actually haven't played past chapter 6, so I have no idea what the game's ending is like. Which could make the ending of this fic either really touching or really sad. Or both?

**Note:** This fic begins right after the battle with Braev as part of the Conjurer sidequest in chapter 6.

Disclaimer: I don't claim to own anything.

Pairing: Ringabel/Edea

* * *

"Tonight, let us dine as a family."

Edea was taken aback by her mother's words. "I don't remember the last time…"

Ringabel turned his gaze downward. "Nor do I…"

Edea wasn't sure how to even describe what she was feeling right now. Some bizarre mix of ice cold dread and burning hot relief mixing together in her chest to make some emotion she couldn't name. She was home! …In a manner of speaking. But did it really matter? Here were her parents standing before her. Her father no longer bearing the grievous wounds she'd helped to inflict the last two times she'd battled him in the past two worlds. He looked tired, beaten from their recent battle, but instead of the haggard, grieved expression she'd seen twice before, now he looked more relieved than anything. And her mother looked more lively and happy than she'd seen her in years. Even if she wasn't _their_ Edea, wasn't this enough?

She looked over to Ringabel standing beside her, as though for guidance. He turned back toward her with a smile as though to say, "It's alright."

That seemed to be all it took to calm her down. She looked up and answered her parents' smiles with her own.

"Can we go to my favorite restaurant? The one with the triple tier ice cream sundaes? Pleeeeease?" Edea pleaded.

Her father looked just as exasperated as he always had when she mentioned her love of sweet food. She watched her mother, who was quite amused, tug on his arm.

"Come on, dear. A little sugar won't kill you."

"If we must." Braev sighed. He turned to Ringabel. "I'd be honored if you would join us, Alternis. It is to you that we owe our daughter's return."

Edea nodded at Ringabel. It only felt right to have him accompany them like this. In a sense they were all 'family' by now.

"I'd be honored to accompany you and your family, Lord Marshal." Ringabel did a small bow.

"Before we go, dear, we should have the healers take a look at you…" Mahzer turned to Edea. "Please wait for us at the entrance to the healing tower, would you?"

Edea nodded. "Of course, Mother. And Father—"

Braev shook his head. "Do not apologize. It is I who attacked you first. And to think…" He barked out a laugh. "You've grown strong, Edea. There is nothing to apologize for, that I assure you."

Two healers hauled Braev out of the room with Mahzer following close behind. Edea turned to Ringabel.

"Are you sure this is okay?"

"Why not?" Ringabel asked in his usual relaxed tone. "I'm sure Tiz and Agnès will understand. And it's just dinner, right? I couldn't imagine denying your parents such a simple request. I, too, know what it's like to lose someone close to me…" He broke off abruptly and turned away. "At the very least, I think it's fine to indulge them in this. Don't you?"

Edea fidgeted with the sleeve of her shirt. The look of joy on her father's face… she hadn't seen him so happy since the day she'd joined the Eternian Sky Knights. She'd worked so hard up until now. Fighting countless battles and helping Agnès awaken the crystals time and time again. Couldn't she allow herself a break for once?

"I'll go tell Agnès and Tiz not to wait up for us, then." Edea turned toward the door, only to be stopped when Ringabel grabbed her arm.

"Allow me." He smiled at her as he walked past. "You go meet with your parents." His hand slid against hers as he let go, a simple touch that almost made Edea jump.

Before she could so much as respond, Ringabel had already left the room.

**...**

It was a strange feeling, eating dinner like this. She couldn't remember the last time she'd had dinner with both her mother and father. Usually she had had meals alone in her room in Grand Central command. Or with Commander Kamiizumi and Einheria if dinner happened to be after a training session.

"You two seem so quiet," her mother commented as she looked them both over. "Is the food not to your liking?"

The fork Edea was holding froze in midair as she looked back up at her parents. She supposed she'd been mired in her own thoughts again. Judging by the look on Ringabel's face, he'd been doing the same.

"N-no! I guess I'm just… a bit tired," Edea lied. "The food is really good, isn't it Ring—Alternis?"

"Oh yes, very good," Ringabel commented amiably. "I was simply stunned by the quality of the cuisine."

"I never recalled you caring so much for food like this, Alternis."

"I suppose you could say it's an interest I recently picked up, Lord Marshal," Ringabel answered easily.

"I see." Braev went back to his steak without further comment.

The meal continued quietly for a few more minutes until Edea's mother spoke up again.

"So Edea, I noticed that you and Alternis seem a lot closer, now. Did something happen?"

Edea stopped mid-bite. She didn't like where this was going…

"W-well…" Edea tried to think of an appropriate response.

"How can I put this?" Ringabel started to say. "Having the pleasure of your daughter's company these past few weeks has been a blessing beyond words."

"A-Alternis!" It wasn't that she minded his overly flowery speech. She had long since gotten used to that. It was the fact that he was speaking that way, right now, _in front of her parents_.

She looked over to her father in panic. His arms were crossed as he focused his attention on Ringabel. She couldn't tell if he was angry or…

It was her mother who spoke up instead. "Hearing you speak like that, Alternis… you remind me of Braev at your age. While he was usually terrible about expressing his feelings in words, he had a way of saying the most surprising things at times…"

For once, Edea's father looked caught off guard.

"D-don't be ridiculous, dear. I don't think such conversation is really appropriate for—"

"Did I ever tell you about the night your father proposed to me, Edea?" Mahzer continued, as though not hearing Braev's protest.

Edea wondered if she was dreaming. Either she was imagining it, or her father was actually blushing.

"N-no, mother. I don't think I've heard the story."

"It was a cold, starry night," Mahzer recalled. "He'd asked me out for a walk, which was very much unlike him at the time. Even more strangely, he seemed nervous. I'm sure the very idea of your father acting nervous is just unimaginable to you."

Edea nodded slowly, both eager to hear more and fearful of looking over at her father.

"So I accepted his invitation. It was rather cold that night, but your father happily lent me his thick fur cloak. I could only imagine he was cold himself, yet he seemed hardly bothered by the evening's chill. And so we walked."

"Dear…" Edea heard her father mutter under his breath.

"We finally stopped atop a small hill that gave us a view of the valley beyond. Atop that hill, it was just us, the land below, and the stars above."

When Edea glanced over at Ringabel, he seemed to be completely focused on Mahzer's tale.

"And there, he turned to me and said—"

"Just as this land before us would be nothing without the stars above to shine on them, I am nothing without you by my side." Braev finished, as though he'd practiced the line.

"You remember!" Mahzer exclaimed, turning toward him in delight.

"You think I would ever forget?" Braev shook his head. "I meant every last word of it. Of course I could never forget it."

"Dear…"

Edea was distracted by the sound of someone sniffling to her right.

"Such words… I don't think I could ever hope to live up to such poetry." Ringabel made to wipe at his eyes, seemingly moved to tears.

Personally, it sounded pretty corny to Edea, but she'd bite off her own tongue before she ever said as much in front of her father. Why had her mother brought this up, anyway?

"Then let me ask you, Alternis." Braev, back to his usual serious demeanor, turned to Ringabel. "How do you feel about my daughter?"

Edea looked between her father and Ringabel frantically. Since when was this his business?!

"Father! That isn't any—"

"I would gladly die for her," Ringabel answered without a hitch.

Edea could feel the blush creeping up her cheeks. She turned back to her father, afraid of his response.

For a few moments, Braev was silent as he considered Ringabel carefully. Finally, he spoke, "I see." He nodded. "Yes, I see it in your eyes. I have no reason to object, then."

"F-Father!" Edea burst out. It was like he'd already made a decision about her future without even asking her.

Her mother nodded. "Of course, Edea." She smiled an oddly knowing smile. "While your father and I married young, we wouldn't want to force the two of you to rush into such an arrangement."

Braev nodded. "You've only just returned to us. And Alternis as well. We can discuss such matters in the future, after things have settled down."

Edea glanced down at her now mostly empty plate. "Father…" He'd never spoken so openly to her of such things in the past. Was it because of the death of her counterpart in this world that her father had opened up to her like this? She glanced back up at her father. "Yes, Father… I think that's for the best."

She stole another glance at Ringabel, though he seemed to be looking anywhere but at her. Afterward, dessert, naturally Edea's favorite part of any meal, was brought to the table. The rest of the meal continued in silence. And though Edea was occupied with scarfing down her beloved triple-tier ice cream sundae, her mind couldn't help but wander to other things.

**...**

The night was a typical, cold Eternian night as Edea stood by Ringabel to see her parents off. Her father had decided to stay with her mother in the healing tower. And in any case, the healers wanted to make sure that his wounds had healed properly.

"Edea."

Edea looked up as her father put a gloved hand on her shoulder.

"Yes, Father?"

"Thank you," was all that he said before walking off toward the healing tower, Edea's mother at his side with every step.

As they disappeared into the distance, Edea let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. She watched as the breath materialized as a puff of mist in front of her.

"Phew." Ringabel seemed similarly relieved. "Do you want to head back to the inn?"

Edea glanced up at the sky as she thought Ringabel's question over. She turned to him and smiled. "Actually, I have a better idea."

"Hm?" Ringabel looked genuinely intrigued. "Do tell."

Edea walked ahead as she beckoned Ringabel to follow her. "Follow me."

A few minutes later they stopped at the top of a small, snow-covered hill that overlooked the town. Seemingly not caring for the fact that ground was cold and wet, Edea sat down on the tightly packed snow. Ahead of her lay the entire town, a group of bright dots in a sea of darkness. She heard Ringabel settle down next to her.

Edea wasn't sure how long the two of them sat there in silence, her arms resting on her outstretched legs as she tried to make sense of the thoughts zooming through her mind.

Finally, Ringabel spoke up. "You're thinking about what the sage said, aren't you?"

She couldn't help laughing nervously. "I'm that easy to read, huh…"

"It's not that. I, too, have been mulling over his words since dinner," Ringabel admitted.

Edea looked up in surprise. "You were? But in this world…"

"I'd have a place?" Ringabel asked with a knowing smile.

"Yes. You wouldn't be like me. I…" Edea clenched her fists. "I felt like an imposter the whole time we were eating dinner. I mean, yes, I am the daughter of Braev and Mahzer Lee. But I'm not _their_ Edea."

"True," Ringabel answered quietly. "But would it really make much of a difference in the end?"

"Huh?"

"Think about it this way. This is your chance to have the life with your parents you couldn't have before. No ideological quarrels to get between you. No war. And if we leave the crystals as they are in this world…"

"You're right," Edea admitted. She glanced up at the night sky above. Stars blinked silently against the backdrop of the pitch black night. "But it doesn't feel right. I couldn't stay in this world knowing that I'd left something undone. We set out together to close up the Great Chasm. And it's something I mean to do. Even if it means…" She looked out over the town where she'd grown up. "Even if it means giving up this."

"So you intend to continue onto wherever our quest may take us?"

Edea nodded. "Yes. I have a feeling that even if we stopped here, this world wouldn't be safe. Who knows how long this happiness would last. I'm just not the kind of person to settle down for the easy path. I think there's still more for us to do."

"I couldn't agree more."

Edea turned to Ringabel in surprise. "So you won't stay here, either?"

Ringabel feigned offense. "How could I? What kind of gentleman would I be, leaving a lady to go run off and fight against who knows what on her own?"

"Are you saying you just stick around out of an obligation to protect me? Come on, Ringabel, you know that isn't necessary." Edea shot him an annoyed glare. She'd hoped he knew better by now.

"You misunderstand me." Ringabel shook his head. "What I mean is… I had no intention of staying here from the beginning. And neither do you. But if you decided to stay here for whatever reason, I would gladly have stayed. It's not that I feel the need to protect you. It's rather that I feel much safer at your side. I suppose you could say…" Ringabel paused to consider his words. "That you have my back, and I have yours."

"Oh." Edea hadn't expected that response. She thought back to Agnès and Tiz. And the topic of their dinner conversation. She glanced up at the night sky, wondering if the sky had looked exactly like this that night she'd heard described by her mother in such detail. She turned to Ringabel.

"Hey, Ringabel?"

"Yes, Edea?"

"In that case, let's… let's keep watching each other's backs. We'll see things through. Together. And then we can return to wherever it is we belong. Whichever world it may be. And…" She thought back to her mother's words. Perhaps someday she and Ringabel could settle down together, but now wasn't the time to think about that. "We can go from there."

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Edea reached out with her right hand, finding Ringabel's in the cold snow. Even through his gloves, his hands were warm.

"Me, too."

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Thanks for reading!


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